The present invention relates to an electrical connector and, more specifically, to an electrical connector designed so that the direction of mating with a mating connector is inclined with respect to a circuit board.
In the past, a technique has been known in which two circuit boards are connected to each other, or a circuit board and electrical wires are connected to each other, by the mutual mating of a set consisting of an electrical connector and a mating connector. In connecting the two circuit boards to each other, or connecting the circuit board and the electrical wires to each other, an approach is generally used in which a board attachment face in a housing of the electrical connector is oriented perpendicular to the direction of mating with the mating connector, so that the direction of mating with the mating connector is oriented perpendicular to the circuit board.
However, depending on the application in which the electrical connector and the mating connector are mounted, there may be cases in which it is necessary to incline the board attachment face in the housing of the electrical connector by a specified angle from the plane that is perpendicular to the direction of mating with the mating connector, so that the mating direction is inclined with respect to the circuit board. First and second examples of conventional electrical connectors of this type are shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.
A first example of a conventional electrical connector of this type is shown in FIG. 14 (see Japanese Utility Model Application Kokai No. S62-18984). The electrical connector 200 is constructed from a housing 210 having a plurality of contacts 220 attached to the housing 210 in two rows. The housing 210 comprises a mating face 210a that mates with a mating connector 250 to which electrical wires W are connected and a board attachment face 210b that is attached to a circuit board PCB. The board attachment face 210b is formed so that the board attachment face 210b is inclined by a specified angle of xcex1xc2x0 from a plane that is perpendicular to the direction of mating with the mating connector 250 (which coincides with the normal direction of the mating face 210a).
Each contact 220 is constructed from an attachment part 221 that is attached to the housing. A contact part 222 extends from one end of the attachment part 221 and makes contact with the mating connector 250. A connecting part 223 extends from the other end of the attachment part 221 and is connected to the circuit board PCB. The contact part 222 extends parallel to the direction of mating with the mating connector 250 (which coincides with the normal direction of the mating face 210a), and the attachment part 221 and connecting part 223 extend in a direction perpendicular to the board attachment face 210b. 
The electrical connector 200 is manufactured by bending the respective contact parts 222 all at one time relative to the attachment parts 221 after the attachment parts 221 of the respective contacts 220 have been press-fitted in the housing 210. Then, the electrical connector 200 is mounted on the circuit board PCB by passing the connecting parts 223 of the contacts 220 through the through-holes (not shown) of the circuit board PCB and making solder connections.
Shown in FIG. 15 is a second example of an electrical connector in which the board attachment face is inclined by a specified angle from the plane perpendicular to the direction of mating with the mating connector (see Japanese Utility Model Application Kokai No. S63-192689). The electrical connector 300 is constructed from a housing 310, and a plurality of contacts 320 that are attached to the housing 310 in a single row. The housing 310 comprises a mating face 310a that mates with a mating connector (not shown) to which electrical wires (not shown) are connected, and a board attachment face 310b which is attached to a circuit board (not shown). The board attachment face 310b is formed so that the board attachment face 310b is inclined by a specified angle of xcex1xc2x0 from the plane that is perpendicular to the direction of mating with the mating connector (which coincides with the normal direction of the mating face 310a).
Each contact 320 is constructed from an attachment part 321 that is attached to the housing 310. A contact part 322 extends from one end of the attachment part 321 and makes contact with the mating connector. A connecting part 323 extends from the other end of the attachment part 321 and is connected to the circuit board. The contact part 322 extends parallel to the direction of mating with the mating connector (which coincides with the normal direction of the mating face 310a), while the attachment part 321 and connecting part 323 extend in a direction that is perpendicular to the board attachment face 310b. 
The electrical connector 300 is manufactured by bending the contact parts 322 of the respective contacts 320 relative to the attachment parts 321, and then insert-molding root portions of the attachment parts 321 and contact parts 322 in the housing 310. Then, the electrical connector 300 is mounted on the circuit board by passing the contact parts 323 of the contacts 320 through the through-holes (not shown) of the circuit board and making solder connections.
However, the following problems have been encountered in the conventional electrical connectors 200 and 300 shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. Specifically, in both of the conventional electrical connectors 200 and 300 shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, it is necessary that the contact parts 222, 322 of the contacts 220, 320 be bent by an angle of xcex1xc2x0 with respect to the attachment parts 221, 321. Since a spring-back effect occurs during this bending, it is difficult to bend all of the contact parts 222, 322 of the contacts 220, 320 to the appropriate angle with good precision. Furthermore, since there is some variation in the amount of spring-back among the individual contacts 220, 320, it is impossible to bend the contact parts 222, 322 of all of the contacts 220, 320 to the appropriate angle with good precision by means of a single bending operation. Accordingly, there may be cases in which a separate bending operation is necessary in order to improve the precision of the bending angle of the contact parts 222, 322, resulting in a higher manufacturing cost.
It is therefore desirable to develop an electrical connector in which the direction of mating with the mating connector is inclined with respect to the circuit board so that there is no need to bend the leg parts of the numerous contacts at an inclination with respect to the direction of mating with the mating connector. In an electrical connector of this type, the location of the connector parts can be controlled and an increase in the cost of manufacture caused by such a bending process can be avoided.
The invention is directed to an electrical connector having a housing with a board attachment face inclined a specified angle from a plane that is perpendicular to a direction of mating with a mating connector. Contacts are connected to the housing and have leg parts that extend parallel to the direction of mating that are inserted into a circuit board. A leg part alignment plate aligns the leg parts and is movable along the direction of mating. A fastening fitting has a screw attachment plate part that extends parallel to the board attachment face and a female screw part that extends perpendicular to the board attachment face that is formed in the approximate center of the screw attachment plate part. Anchoring leg parts are connected to the screw attachment plate part and extend parallel to the direction of mating.
The invention is also directed to an electrical connector having a housing with a board attachment face inclined by a specified angle from a plane that is perpendicular to a direction of mating with a mating connector and a nut accommodating hole that extends parallel to the board attachment face. Contacts are connected to the housing and have leg parts that extend parallel to the direction of mating that are inserted into first through-holes in a circuit board. A leg part alignment plate has second through-holes that align the leg parts and is movable along the direction of mating. A nut having a female screw part is oriented in a direction that extends perpendicular to the board attachment face when the nut is inserted into the nut accommodating hole.